Electric iron



1. A. OCA BA/LDA.

ELECTRIC IRON.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 16. 1919.

1,365,186. Patented Jan. 11, 1921.

2 SHEETSSHEET l- 772/? 40 w 39 INVENTOR.

By cioseA. 00a Ba/da A T TORNE Y.

JIA. OCA BMDA.

ELECTRIC IRON.

- APPLICATION FILED MAYIG. 1919.

Patented Jan. 11, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- 47 1 an ll IN VENTOR.

m' clase'A. 00a Bahia ATTORNEY.

UNITED STATES JOSE A. A. BALDA, OF BRIDGEPOBT, OONNECTIGU'E.

ELECTRIC IRON.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 11, 1921.

Application filed May 16, 1919. Serial No. 297,528.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J osii 00A BALpA, a citizen of Argentina, residing at Bridgeport, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented new and useful Improvements in Electric Irons, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an electric heating apparatus and has particular reference to electric irons.

In the use of electric irons, 1t sometlmes happens that the user is temporarily called away and forgets to cut off the current which not only results in a waste of the current but very often serious consequences result due to an over-heating of the iron.

One of the principal objects of thisinvention is to combine with an electric iron, a circuit having a time controlled mechanism for breaking the same after a predetermined time has elapsed.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of a device of the class described which includes a heating apparatus, a circuit which is normally open and means included in said circuit for manually closing and retaining the same in its closed condition.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a device which includes in the circuit, a means for indicating whether the circuit is closed or open.

A still further object of the invention is to rovide a device of the class described which includes the features of simplicity, chea ness of manufacture and means for regu ating the length of time in which the current will be shut off, and means for adjusting the several parts in order to take up wear on the same.

With these and other objects in view which will-be more apparent, as the nature and operation of the device is better under-,

. clear y illustrate the details of construction.

Fig. 2 ,is an enlarged fragmentary detail sectional view through the forward upright arm.

Fi 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectiona view through the forward end of the grip member.

4 is a detail view of the contact roller.

Fig. 5 IS a side view of a modified form of the invention. a i

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view showing the circuit.

Fig. 7 is a detail view showing the graduations on the arm of Fig. 5.

Referring to the drawings, 10 designates the body portion of an electric iron and 11 the heating elements which are located therein. A socket member 12 is secured to the body member and is adapted to receive the usual plug 13 from which the source of supply of current is derived. A handle 15 is secured to the body 10 and comprises the upr ght arms 16 and 17, the former being provided with a plurality of spaces 18 (as shown in Fig. 5) for the reception of extra pilot lamps in. orderthat the same may be convenient for use. Pivoted as at 19 to the arm 16 1s thegrip member 20 of the handle, which is provided with a stop lug 21 adapted to en age with a lug 22 on the arm in order to limit the upward movement of the handle. The arm 17 is preferably of a hollow construction in order to provide a casing for the reception of a time controlled mechanism 23 which may be of any approved or desired construction and which is not herein illustrated in all its details, it being necessary only to include an ordinary type which is capable of adjustment to opcrate to permit a flow of current for an predetermined time and then to automatically cut off the current. Secured to the arm 17 and extending rearwardly therefrom is a saddle member 24 which is adapted to receive and co-act with the grip member when the same is swun to its lowermost position. The grip and sad 1e members are adapted to be grasped by the hand of the user during the operation of ironing. The time controlled mechanism 23 as herein illustrated includes a shaft 25 upon which is mounted the gear wheel 26 and the friction wheel 27. A suitable spring 28 is secured at one end to the casing and at the remaining end to the shaft and is adapted to be wound upon said shaft. A rack bar 29 is secured as at 30 to the free extremity of the gripmember 20 and is provided with teeth which are adapted to engage with the gear 31 which meshes with an intermediate gear 32 driven by the gear 26. The arm 17 is provided with a door 33 having arranged thereon a contact bar 34 and the free extremity of the rack bar 29 provided with a contact roller 39 which is lnsulated therefrom at 40 (see Fig. 4) and is provided with suitable tensioning means for normally forcing the contact roller against the rod 34 when the contacts are arranged in opposite relation to each other.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that upon the downward movement of the grip 20 the spring 28 will be wound on the shaft 25 on which the gear 26 is mounted and upon releasing the grip from the handle member, the spring will operate to raise the handle through the medium of the gears and rack bar. As these contacts 34 and 39 are included in the circuit 45, the current will flow through the circuit as long as the roller remains in contact with the bar 34. In order to regulate the length of time in which the roller will remain in contact with the bar, a friction device is provided which includes a resilient member 41 against which a rod 42 is adapted to operate in order to induce friction against the friction wheel 27. This rod is threaded into the casing and is provided with a manipulating portion 43 which snaps into engagement with notches 44 arranged on the exterior of the casing.

A signaling device is arranged in parallel or series with the circuit 45 and includes an electro-magnet 46 which co-acts with a sliding rack bar 47 to swing the signal 48'to an indicating position when the magnet is energized. A spring 49 is adapted to return the rack bar and signal to its normal position when the magnet is deenergized. It will thus be understood that the operator is informed of the condition of the circuit at all times and while I have shown the signal as arranged in the forward free extremity of the grip member 20, it may be placed in any convenient portion of the iron.

In operation of the device, when the grip member is in its lowermost position, and the contacts 34 and 39 are in contacting relation, the current will flow continua ly for energizing the heating elements, but should the user or any reason leave the iron with the current turned on, after a predetermined lapse of time the grip member will be raised under the action of the spring 28 and the contact members disengaged, thereby breaking the circuit, avoiding waste of fuel and overheating of the iron.

In the modified form illustrated in Fig. 5 of the drawings, the circuit 42 includes a circuit breaker which normall closes the circuit under the action of a 1i t spring'5l. In this form a sliding rack iar 52 is arranged in the arm 17, and the teeth of the rack bar are adapted to be engaged with the gear of a time controlled mechanism 53 similar to that illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings. The rack bar is provided with 9. lug 54 which is adapted to engage with the circu-it breaker to open the circuit when the rack is moved to its uppermost position under the action of the time controlled mechanism. An operating handle 55 is secured to the rack bar and extends through a slot 56 in the arm 17 whereby the mechanism may be reset after the circuit has been broken. In order to control the mechanism 53, suitable indicating indicia 57 is stamped on the arm adjacent the slot 56 and the handle 55 co-acts with said mechanism whereby it may be set for a )redetermined length of time as shown in Pig. 7. In this form of the invention, a pilot light 58 is connected in parallel with the heating circuit. This light indicates to the user the condition of the circuit and when the time control mechanism has functioned to open the same, the light will be extinguished.

As an example, the rack member may be slightly over one inch in length and the diameter of the gear engaging therewith one-third of an inch while the gears connecting this gear with the pressure regulated wheel will be one-third of the diameter of the first mentioned gear. Thus when the said pressure regulated wheel is regulated to rotate 360 in one minute the wheel engaging the rack will make a complete revolution in three minutes, and thus the rack bar will be moved from one position to the other in three minutes. In the same way if the pressure regulated wheel makes a complete revolution in one minute and twenty seconds the gear engaging the rack will make a complete revolution in four minutes and thus the rack bar will move from one position to the other in four minutes.

I prefer to make the device operate in about five minutes though, of course, I do not wish to be limited in this respect. In this way the person who is using the iron would operate the rack bar to complete the circuit and after say three or four minutes, according to the time for which the device is set, the circuit would be broken and then as soon as the user notices that the iron is getting cold he would operate the rack bar again to close the circuit. If the clothes being ironed were damp and the work was being done in a cool room this would be about every six minutes. In this way there is no danger of the iron becoming too hot and a great deal of current is saved. The pilot lam will notify the user when the current is 0 or on. This may be provided with a suitable resistance when necessary.

While I have illustrated and described one method of carrying my invention into practice. I do not care to be limited to the exact details of construction therein exhib-, ited, but desire to have it understood that changes, and alterations which fall within the scope of the appended claims may be resorted to when desired.

What is claimed as new is 2-- 1. An electric iron comprising a body and electric heating elements, a time controlled -mechanism located in any suitable part of the iron, in order to out 01f the current after an elapse of time adjusted before and means for adjusting such elapses of time.

3. An electric iron comprising a body and electric heating elements, a time controlled mechanism located in any suitable part of the iron, in order to cut off the current after an elapse of time, means for adjusting such elapses of time and means for rendering the mechanism inactive.

4. An electric iron comprising a body and electric heating elements, a time controlled mechanism located in any suitable part of the iron in order to cut of! the current after a predetermined time, means for adjusting the elapses of time, means for rendering the mechanism inactive while the iron is being used but active as soon as the iron is left.

5. An electric iron comprising switch means 'for controlling the current to the heating elements of the iron, means for holding said switch means in closed position while the iron is being used and time controlled means for opening the switch means after the iron is released from the hand.

6. An electric' iron comprising switch means for controlling the current to the heating elements, such means including a longitudinally movable bar, time controlled means for moving said bar to break the circuit and a handle member connected with said bar.

7 An electric iron having a movable handle, switch means for controlling the current to the heating elements of the iron, such means including a longitudinally movable bar connected with the handle and time controlled means for moving the bar and handle to raised position to break the circuit.

8. An electric iron comprising switch means for controlling the current to the heating elements, such means including a rack bar, a gear engaging said rack bar, time controlled means engaging said gear for moving the same to break the circuit and a handle member connected with said rack bar.

9. An electric iron comprising switch means for controlling the circuit to the heating elements, such means including a longitudinally movable bar, time controlled means for moving said bar to break the circuit, a handle member connected with said bar and means for indicating the condition of the circuit.

10. An electric iron comprising a body portion, heating elements located therein, an electric circuit connected to said heating elements, a pilot lamp in said circuit for indicating the condition of the same, a circuit breaker in said circuit, a time controlled mechanism for normally rendering the circuit breaker active, means for manually rendering said mechanism inactive and storage housings for the reception of extra pilot lamps provided in said iron.

In testimony whereof I have aiiixed my si ature.

gn JOSE A. 00A BALDA. 

